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2nd March 2018

US trade protectionism hits global markets

President Donald Trump has said that the US will be implementing a 25 per cent tariff on imports of steel and aluminium in a move that is aimed at regenerating US industry. Implementing tariffs of this kind can be enacted by the President alone and does not need congressional approval. Such protectionism stands to hurt major exporters and trade partners of the US such as China, Canada, Japan and Europe who have been speaking out to say they will plan countermeasures to the planned tariffs, exacerbating fears of a 'trade war' with the US. Mainly industrial components of global stock markets were hit by the news overnight, with Japan's Nikkei 225 index falling 2.5 per cent as car makers were most affected. China's Hang Seng index was down around 1.5 per cent and the US's industrial Dow 30 index fell by over 1.6 per cent. Today, global markets are dipping further, with European stocks being hit the most.